The second annual joint EUI-URBACT Info Day occurs in Dublin

The afternoon kicked off with a networking lunch before words of welcome from Pauline Riordan, Planning Advisor at DHLGH and Bernie Roe, Assistant Director for EU and Corporate Affairs at the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA). The remainder of the afternoon was broken into two main segments with a networking coffee break in between giving the attendees the opportunity to ask additional questions of the speakers and their testimonial experience and network further with their peers.

Karl Murphy, Urban Contact Point (UCP) for the EUI Programme in Ireland presented to attendees an overview of both the EUI and Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) offers. Karl began speaking about EUI Capacity Building with an emphasis on City-to-City Exchanges. He spoke both of past involvement from Ireland and current interest and applications under way involving Irish partners, detailing the various ways the network of National Contact Points and the Secretariat can support cities to find their match. Karl detailed the utility of the EUI Peer Review call which will open again later this year and spoke of the potential for these offers to complement one another as well as URBACT projects. Karl mentioned the national Capacity Building event that was held in Limerick last November. He next spoke of the Innovative Actions (IA) pillar to the EUI, mentioning Ireland’s first IA project success seeing Galway awarded just over €3.3 million and noting that a new IA call is anticipated for early next year. Karl next detailed the UAEU offer and why involvement in a Thematic Partnership is useful, pointing to Dublin City Council’s current involvement in the one on Food and Cork City’s past involvement in the Partnership on Sustainable Land Use. He noted the upcoming call on Compact Cities and in the meantime, the opportunity to assist other current Partnerships during the public consultation process on draft action plans, a key part of the UAEU Thematic Partnerships. Karl also included in his presentation a call for attendees to sign up to Portico. He pointed to the importance and utility of Urban Matchmaker and in submitting cards containing challenges and or solutions on all things sustainable urban development.

Aoife Sheridan, Senior Executive Officer at Fingal County Council provided a testimonial on her involvement in EUI City to City Exchanges. Aoife works in the Economic, Enterprise, Tourism & Cultural Development Department at Fingal and is/has been involved in multiple EU projects including URBACT. Aoife used an EUI City to City Exchange to complement work she was already undertaking as part of the EcoCore URBACT project, based in Balbriggan, County Dublin and for which they are Lead Partner. The project focuses on green transition in small cities along transport corridors. Aoife spoke about the ease and speed of the City-to-City Exchange application process and the process of matchmaking with Nokia, Finland. Nokia's best practice includes it being a Circular Economy Innovation Hub and as a Consortium of Development Company and City of Nokia. Aoife travelled to Finland with a delegation including Fingal’s Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly and noted the key learnings they took from the reciprocal visits which included brand-building, relationship building between industry and the university sector and the importance of the local authority being a driver in Green investment attraction and Green procurement. Following Aoife’s presentation, she and Karl took questions from the audience during Q&A session.

Earlier in the afternoon, Karl Murphy, National URBACT Point (NUP) for Ireland presented the URBACT programme with a specific focus on the currently open call for Transfer Networks. Following Karl’s presentation, two local authority staff members from Limerick City and County Council and Meath County Council provided testimonials on their URBACT experience to date, followed by a Q&A moderated by Laure Antoniotti, EMRA.  

The event closed with a number of bilateral chats with the Contact Point and with many further appointments planned with our local authority colleagues as we continue to help grow the impact of the European Urban Initiative and URBACT programmes in Ireland!